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Chapter 138: Magic Association (3)

Magic Association (3)

“I’ll do it.”

Scarlet nodded her head vigorously as she spoke.

Yerica, who was standing next to her, thought that Scarlet would accept without even hearing the terms of the contract.

After all, Ethan had already created a situation where she had no choice.

As always, Yerica would have done the same if she were in Scarlet’s position.

“Wouldn’t it be better to… hear the terms of the contract?”

Mirhak chimed in without realizing it.

“I’m sorry, Sir Ethan.”

Ethan nodded as if he understood. In fact, Ethan agreed. The terms of the contract should be heard.

“You should hear the contract I’m proposing, Miss Scarlet.”

“As long as it’s not a slave contract, it’s fine.”

Scarlet smiled brightly. There were still tears in her eyes, but she was in a refreshing mood.

“It could be a slave contract.”

Yerica muttered in passing. Fortunately, Scarlet didn’t seem to hear.

“I’ll listen anyway.”

“I will restore your magic. I will erase the name of the other mage registered with the Magic Association and have your name, Scarlet, registered for the dyeing magic.”

“And the conditions?”

“Let’s do business with that magic together.”

Ethan said.

Mirhak frowned without realizing it.

There’s a mistake that novice merchants make most often.

That’s bringing up business to mages.

‘It’s something you can barely bring up after building numerous connections with that mage and entertaining them multiple times.’

To say such a thing to a mage you’ve met for the first time today?

The good atmosphere would completely disappear, and an uncomfortable one would be created.

No, if it were just an uncomfortable atmosphere, it could be laughed off. It was not uncommon for relationships to be completely severed, going beyond just an uncomfortable atmosphere.

After painstakingly entertaining a mage and generating familiarity, that one word could completely change the situation.

That’s how much pride mages took in their magic.

“Um, Sir Ethan.”

Mirhak immediately opened his mouth to calm the situation.

But something about the atmosphere was strange.

It wasn’t the atmosphere he was expecting.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Scarlet, who had tremendous pride in her dyeing magic. Even from their brief conversation, it was clear how much effort she put into her dyeing magic.

But she nods so easily?

A mage?

Mirhak looked back and forth between Ethan and Scarlet in confusion.

Schudlen put his hand on Mirhak’s shoulder.

“Would you like a drink, Sir Mirhak?”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

Ethan already knew that Scarlet would accept.

‘After all, the reason she came to register with the Magic Association wasn’t simply to have the value of her magic recognized.’

She was different from other mages.

She’s someone who has abandoned everything that mages think in order to prove that the path she’s walking is right.

‘That’s why she became rich by creating the continent’s leading dyeing magic workshop.’

She had originally planned to register her magic here at the Magic Association and start a business.

In such a situation, when Ethan proposed business, she immediately nodded.

‘She has no choice but to take it positively.’

“But Sir Ethan. Is my magic really valuable? When you said we’d do business. Can it really be successful?”

Although she reacted positively, she didn’t seem to have completely eliminated her anxiety.

It’s understandable.

Until now, her magic had only been treated as useless.

Could such magic really have business value?

‘It’s natural to be anxious. So I’ll give her confidence here.’

Ethan already knows. That this business will definitely succeed.

But she knows nothing. She’s just a mage walking in darkness where she can’t see an inch ahead.

“Miss Scarlet’s dyeing magic will definitely catch on in the market. First, let me tell you how I’m doing business.”

Ethan told Scarlet about selling Lightweight Workshop and attribute-granting magic.

“What?!”

She was surprised once at Lightweight Workshop and then greatly surprised again at the mention of attribute-granting magic.

The mages at the Magic Tower who were researching attribute-granting magic were similar to Scarlet.

They were people who believed that their research direction was not wrong while studying non-mainstream magic.

Of course, since Scarlet had already completed her dyeing magic, it could be said that she had developed more than them.

“And special golem magic on top of that. All the businesses using magic have been successful so far.”

Scarlet felt proud at Ethan’s words.

Because such a person highly evaluated her color.

It felt like she was finally being properly recognized.

“To think that Miss Yerica here was in charge of Lightweight Workshop and special golems.”

Scarlet looked at Yerica.

“Earlier, when you said my dyeing magic was just changing colors, I thought you had no knowledge in this area at all.”

“…To be honest, I don’t know much.”

“But her skills are amazing. Among the mages I’ve seen, no one is as good as Yerica. In fact, today we came to register Yerica’s new magic with the Magic Association.”

“Wow… You must be very skilled!”

“Um… well, haha.”

Yerica said sheepishly.

It felt ticklish to be praised by someone other than Ethan, which didn’t happen often.

“You should get used to it, Yerica.”

“…I’m satisfied with just you praising me, Ethan.”

Yerica replied with a sheepish smile.

***

Scarlet continued to talk about colors with Ethan as they went to the Magic Association.

Until now, she had never met someone who understood colors so well, so she never had the opportunity to discuss colors with anyone else.

“You see, I paid a lot of attention to this part. People don’t really understand. They think all red is the same red… How do you have such deep knowledge about colors?”

Ethan knew so much about colors that even Scarlet, who had been researching colors for 10 years, was amazed.

Above all, his eye for judging colors was exceptional.

“Other people can’t even distinguish them at all.”

Ethan smiled as he looked at the astonished Scarlet.

‘Color is an essential element in creating a look.’

Ethan had paid a great deal of attention to his look throughout his MePan experience.

It was a kind of concept play, but almost everyone who did MePan engaged in concept play.

‘I bought so much from Scarlet’s store. As a result, my eye for color improved.’

At first, Ethan also had times when he wondered why they set different names for what seemed to be the same color.

But as he got used to seeing them, he began to notice those subtle differences.

‘Even among red dyes, there are some with an orange tinge. If you use that orange-tinged dye on a sword and add attributes to it.’

Then a perfect fire-flowing flame sword is created.

Of course, there’s no real fire attribute there. It just looks that way on the outside.

Yerica probably wouldn’t understand the value of this flame sword.

She would ask what the point is.

‘The meaning isn’t important.’

What’s important is the style.

‘Because it looks cool.’

That’s the only reason for doing it.

“I also paid a lot of attention to colors. As I looked at them often, I started to see the differences in colors.”

Scarlet was deeply moved by these words.

It was natural for her to be speechless with emotion, as the only person who understood her life of researching color magic had appeared.

Ethan naturally listened to her words as they moved.

“Huh? Weren’t we going to the Magic Association?”

“Mister Mirhak.”

“Yes, Sir Ethan.”

Ethan approached Mirhak and whispered.

-Please put out a search for one person.

He intended to quickly collect one piece of evidence before going to the Magic Association.

‘They must have been profiting a lot already.’

The name Ethan gave was that of someone who handled various tasks for the Magic Association certification examiner.

“I’ll put out the search right away.”

“You may need to use force to bring him in. He’s not a good guy. There’s no need to be polite in bringing him.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Mirhak immediately ran off and soon returned.

“I’ve arranged for him to be brought to the association.”

“Then let’s go.”

Magic Association.

As soon as Ethan’s group entered the building, Mirhak took the lead.

“I’m Mirhak from the Garnet Merchant Guild.”

“Oh, Mister Mirhak. Have you come to deliver the materials I mentioned before?”

“Ah, I’ll handle that separately. We’re not here for that reason today. Today we’ve come to register magic certification.”

“I see the guests are the people behind you.”

The association’s mage greeted them politely.

“You can go straight up to the 15th floor. When you get there, a mage from our Magic Tower will kindly guide you.”

Magic Tower 15th floor.

This was the place in charge of all magic registrations.

Before entering, Ethan spoke with Yerica. It was better to use an alias here rather than her real name.

“Let’s go with Yekaterina.”

“Okay.”

Ethan casually gave Yerica an alias.

As they reached the 15th floor, Mirhak confidently said to Ethan.

“I heard the person in charge is picky. But don’t worry. I’m here.”

“It probably won’t go well.”

“What?”

“If the person I know is the certification examiner, it probably won’t go well even if you mention the Garnet Merchant Guild.”

“Ah, no. That can’t be. Garnet currently supplies dozens of items to the Magic Association. And most of them are essential for this association! This is a magic registration for someone directly vouched for by our Garnet Merchant Guild. Unless there’s a really valid reason, they’ll definitely approve it.”

Mirhak said emphatically.

“And I’ve come representing the Garnet Merchant Guild. I’ve come to exercise all the rights that Garnet can exert over the Magic Association.”

“That’s fortunate. Then I’ll leave the aftermath to you.”

“The aftermath?”

Ethan didn’t give a detailed explanation.

“Welcome!”

Scarlet’s expression hardened as she returned to the 15th floor. The mages who had stolen her magic and driven her out were still sitting there.

Ethan followed Scarlet’s gaze.

‘As expected, that guy is the person in charge.’

It was a mage with a ponytail and arrow-like beard.

He looked quite intelligent wearing a monocle, but Ethan knew his true nature.

‘A thief.’

He was a guy who stole numerous magics and took bribes while sitting in that position.

Ethan smiled at him.

“Ha, this is something. How did you get in this time? I’ve chased you away so many times. No, I told you! Your magic is already existing magic, right? It’s already registered magic and the level is low, so what did we steal from you?”

The pony tailed mage sighed and looked at Scarlet.

Scarlet, who was about to burst out in excitement, held back and stepped back. This was because Ethan had said he would handle everything after entering the association.

“Did you bring her in just listening to that mage’s nonsense? Get out right now! We never register magic unless it’s absolutely certain.”

“I’m Ethan Whiskers.”

Normally, this pony tailed mage would have snorted and kicked out Ethan, an unknown nobleman. But as if something had occurred to him, he suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Ethan.

“Are you that Ethan Whiskers?”

Ethan’s high reputation came into play.

Thanks to the reputation he had built up at the academy, the pony tailed mage quickly recognized Ethan.

Ethan briefly introduced himself and then introduced Mirhak.

“This is a representative from the Garnet Merchant Guild.”

“Oh, someone from the Garnet Merchant Guild. Nice to meet you. I’m Tresis, the certification examiner in charge of magic registration at the Magic Association.”

His expression softened when Mirhak was introduced.

Mirhak smiled, finally recalling Ethan’s words that it probably wouldn’t go well.

“Our Garnet’s guest has come to register a magic with the association.”

“Then you have nothing to do with that young mage, right?”

“We came to hear the circumstances, as we heard her magic was stolen.”

“Come on, this is the Magic Association, the Magic Association. It’s an association of numerous Magic Towers, and our association chairman is a 7th Circle Archmage. We were at the forefront when punishing that crazy mage Hecate, how can you view us like this!”

At those words, Yerica’s eyebrows twitched.

She looked like she wanted to throw a punch right away.

“So you’re saying it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Of course it’s a misunderstanding. Sigh, since you’ve brought them in, I won’t chase them out right away. But don’t get involved with such low-quality people.”

Tresis sighed and said.

“So what kind of magic are you trying to register? Did you bring all the documents?”

“Here they are.”

Ethan immediately handed over a parchment. It was a parchment with Clean Magic detailed on it.

Tresis read the parchment Ethan handed over in detail.

“Huh? It erases all pollutants…?”

Tresis’s eyes shone. It was a look thoroughly drenched in greed.

“Hmm, I’ll conduct the certification examination for now. But don’t expect too much. This level of magic is everywhere, especially Clean Magic is too common. It might not get certified.”

“Take your time.”

Ethan could be certain from that look in his eyes.

‘He’s going to steal it.’

It was obvious at a glance.

“Please wait in the waiting room.”

The magic certification examination is divided into two processes. The first is a document review and the second is a practical examination.

The documents submitted for the document review had to detail the content and technique of the magic, so if one had bad intentions, it was naturally easy to steal.

‘I look forward to it.’

***

“Hehehe, dyeing magic and Clean Magic. It’s only a matter of time before I’m sitting on a pile of money if I have the copyright to such good magic. And if I sell these magics properly… I can be promised a higher position in the association.”

Tresis laughed vilely as he daydreamed.

“But I might still be suspected.”

He had deliberately rejected Scarlet Saint Pierre’s excellent dyeing magic just before.

And he completed the copyright registration of that magic by bringing in a new mage. The mage who registered the magic was one Tresis could trust.

Because they had been doing this kind of thing together for quite a long time, the other side also made a lot of money from this work.

“The Garnet Merchant Guild is a bit concerning, but…”

The Garnet Merchant Guild had quite a close relationship with the Magic Association. But the association was still the superior party.

Since the Garnet Merchant Guild gained quite a lot through connections with the association, they wouldn’t be able to complain much about this matter unless it went seriously wrong.

“It’s just Clean Magic anyway. It’s so common.”

Isn’t Clean Magic all the same anyway?

“Besides, I can’t trust these documents. She’s not even affiliated with any Magic Tower, just an escort mage. Yekaterina? I’ve never heard that name before.”

Of course, this escort mage was guarding Ethan Whiskers.

A renowned swordsman and teacher at the prestigious Ivecar Academy.

It could be troublesome if the matter grew larger.

‘But it’s just Clean Magic after all.’

Only mages know the value of magic.

Although Ethan Whiskers has a high reputation, isn’t he just a swordsman in the end?

You can tell just by the two swords hanging at his waist.

With that, Tresis stamped [Failed] on the certification mark and immediately started working. He was planning to cleanly steal Clean Magic by preparing documents.

Having spent quite a long time as the association’s certification examiner, it was very easy for him to hijack the copyright of magic.

“Is the examination result out?”

At that moment, Ethan came in.

Tresis shook his head with a regretful expression. Then he handed over the parchment and said.

“Here’s the examination result. Clean Magic is too common to be certified. Well, if it were an extraordinary magic, certification would be possible, but this level of magic is too abundant…”

“Abundant? Are you sure you read it properly?”

When Ethan raised his voice, Tresis waved his hand.

“Please calm down. It’s unbecoming for a renowned knight to raise his voice. This is the Magic Association.”

“So you’re saying it can’t be registered because it’s too common?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Tresis put on an artificial expression as if he was regretful.

“Then goodbye.”

Ethan’s expression wasn’t good, but Tresis didn’t even snort. Whatever that swordsman could do, it was nothing.

Surely he wouldn’t cause a scene and demand evidence…

“You’re quite the thief.”

Ethan grinned. It was as if he knew this would happen from the beginning.

“Wh-what? What did you just say…?”

“Schudlen!”

“Yes, Lord Ethan.”

Ethan called for Schudlen who was waiting behind. Schudlen brought in the group.

As Scarlet entered, Schudlen naturally closed and locked the door of the 15th floor magic certification center.

Click-!

“Please instill some manners into this rascal of a mage. He says Yekaterina’s Clean Magic is ordinary. He must surely have a good eye for magic, having seen countless magics. Especially focus on the eyes.”

“Yes!”

Schudlen approached Tresis without even drawing a weapon.

“I am Schudlen, the manners instructor of Whiskers territory.”

“Y-yes, manners instructor? Who gave you such a nick-!”

“I just made it up, right now.”

Schudlen smiled and cracked his neck from side to side.

Feeling that the situation was turning strange, Tresis immediately grabbed the staff at his waist.

He tried to activate a defensive magic, but Schudlen was faster.

Tresis, who was grabbed by the collar in an instant, shouted urgently.

“Wh-where do you think this is! This is the Magic Association! Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this!”

“Mister Mirhak.”

Ethan looked at Mirhak.

Mirhak blinked his eyes as if he didn’t know this was the kind of aftermath Ethan had asked him to handle.

But he soon nodded.

The association wouldn’t want to fall out with Garnet over just one mage.

After all, the relationship between the Garnet Merchant Guild and the association isn’t that light.

“Our Garnet Merchant Guild will take responsibility.”

“Yekaterina, you heard that?”

“Yes, I heard.”

Yerica had been angry since earlier.

“Schudlen, Yekaterina. Just to the point where he doesn’t die, only instill some manners.”

“Yes!”

“Okay.”

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